Head Coach Richard Hill could not hide his disappointment after a late try denied Warriors victory at Newcastle Falcons and demanded his team started to learn their lessons and close out tight games.
A score from scrum half Shaun Perry – his first for the club – and the combined boot of fly half pair Joe Carlisle and Andy Goode looked set to hand Warriors a crucial win on the road in the north east.
But, for the second successive week, a try just minutes from time from replacement home hooker Michael Mayhew snatched a draw for Falcons and left Hill in no mood to mix his words as he looked for the way forward in the Aviva Premiership.
“We are very disappointed that we didn’t close it out. For the third time now we have done that, got so close and not closed it out. We cannot keep doing that,” stated Hill.
“You can dress it up as much as you like and say it is two points away at Newcastle, but at the end of the day that was a game that we could have won again.
“The players know it and I didn’t need to tell them in the huddle on the pitch, they were the most disappointed I have seen them all season. They were very hard on themselves.
“They knew that when we went into the lead we sat back. We were tentative and the errors crept in instead of really going for it. You cannot sit back and the penny has got to drop.
“I am pleased that they were hard on themselves. You would have thought we lost by the reaction and how quiet the dressing room is now.
“Some of our kicking in the second half wasn’t far enough and we were conceding penalties on our own ball at set piece,” he added. “Newcastle did step it up, but any team at home would do that and it was a huge, huge game for them.
“In the first half I have not seen us tackle as hard as that, some of our hits were ferocious. In the second half part of us was sitting back and allowing them to just run and we weren’t making the dominant hits.
“We dropped the levels of intensity which is not a fitness thing, I am certain of that, it is a mental thing and all of us get a little frightened and wonder if we can close it out.”
Hill did praise back row Sam Betty who was a late call-up for the ill Jake Abbott and impressed throughout at Kingston Park with an energetic and big hitting display.
“I was very pleased with Sam,” added Hill. “We have been working him at six while seven is a crucial position in attack and defence, but he did well.
“Jake had to pull out through illness on the day of the game and we switched Sam in. Matt Kvesic came up on the day so we didn’t put him straight in after a long journey up. Sam is very combative and didn’t make too many mistakes.”